Bodycam shows Florida deputy punch inmate handcuffed to a hospital bed

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Authorities are investigating after bodycam footage showed a Florida deputy punching a man in custody while he was handcuffed to a hospital bed.

A letter from the public defender's office demanded the Broward Sheriff's Office investigate what it called "excessive force" by Deputy Jorge Sobrino. Public defender Howard Finkelstein says "the video shows clear police abuse." The Miami Herald reports the video released Wednesday shows Sobrino throwing 27-year-old David O'Connell's legs onto the hospital bed and hitting him in the face.

The deputy wrote in the arrest paperwork that O'Connell initiated the January altercation by pushing him.

A spokeswoman for the Broward Sheriff's office said they opened an internal affairs investigation.

BSO Deputy Association president Jeff Bell did not immediately comment.

This is the third incident the agency has come under scrutiny for in recent weeks regarding actions captured on deputies' bodycams.

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